From the beginning of 1991, Azerbaijan attacked
the Armenian populations of both the Nagorno Karabakh Autonomous Oblast
(NKAO) and the Shahoumian region. On January 2, the Azerbaijani television
broadcast the President of Azerbaijan, Ajaz Mutalibov's edict on the
introduction of a presidential government in NKAO and the adjacent Azerbaijani
regions. Leaflets were distributed in the region with an ultimatum demanding
the Armenian people to leave the boundaries of Nagorno Karabakh at the
earliest possible date.

On January 14, the Azerbaijani Supreme Soviet
Presidium made a decision to unify two neighboring regions, the Armenian-populated
Shahoumian and Azerbaijani-populated Kasum-Ismailov, into one region
named Geranboy. The aim of the Azerbaijani leadership was obvious: to
liquidate an Armenian-populated region, deporting its indigenous inhabitants
and repopulating the Armenian villages with Azeris. At this time, the
Shahoumian region had twenty thousand inhabitants, 82% of whom were
Armenians.

On January 22, at Stepanakert Airport OMON,
the Special militia detachments of Azerbaijan prevented a group of Deputies
from the R.S.F.S.R. Supreme Soviet, who had arrived from Baku on a mission
to study the situation, from entering town.

The situation in Nagorno Karabakh and adjacent Armenian
region became seriously aggravated. Operation Ring was one event in
particular that caused severe deterioration in the region. This punitive
act against the Armenians in late April and early May of 1991
involved forces of the USSR Ministry of the Interior and the Azerbaijani
OMON. On the pretext of passport "checks", an unprecedented
action of state terror was carried out with the aim of destroying the
center of the Karabakh movement and destroying national unity. The first
victims were the villagers of Getashen and Martounashen of the Khanlar
region in Azerbaijan. The male population was deported to unknown locations,
while brutality, looting, and robbery accompanied further "passport
checks". During three days, the population of twenty-four Karabakh
villages was subjected to similar treatment and deportation. Two of
the villages were in the Khanlar district, three in the Shahoumian district,
fifteen in the Hadrout district, and four in the Shoushi district. As
a result of these actions in Karabakh, more than one hundred people
were killed and several hundred more were taken as hostages.

On April 24, the Armenian Supreme Soviet Chairman
sent a letter to the USSR leadership requesting that urgent measures
be taken to protect and ensure the security of the Armenian people.
On May 3rd, active members of the Armenian Communist Party addressed
the President of the USSR, M.Gorbachev, with a similar request. On May
4th, the President of Armenia, Levon Ter-Petrossian met with M.Gorbachev
and Boris Yeltsin, the President of Russia. No statement was issued
following the meeting. The USSR interior forces with the Azerbaijani
OMON - continued their punitive operations. It was evident that a large-scale
war was brewing.

On May 6, the USSR Supreme Soviet discussed
Armenia's request to convene the congress of the USSR People's Deputies
to discuss the rapidly deteriorating situation within the region. A
decision to continue discussion of the situation at the Commission of
the Soviet of Nationalities of the USSR Supreme Soviet was decided upon.

Meanwhile, 700 Armenian refugees were taken from Getashen
to Stepanakert by military helicopters. A rally, scheduled by public
organizations in Stepanakert on May 7, was banned by the military commandant's
office. Crowds were warned by armored troops carrying loudspeakers,
that arms would be used in the case of disobedience.

As a result of the critical situation in Nagorno Karabakh,
the Executive Committee of the Regional Soviet (Council) declared a
state of emergency in the region. On the same day, the Executive Committee
appealed to the UN and to other leaders of a number of states to save
the Armenian people from the physical extermination by granting them
political asylum.

On July 19, 1991 the enlarged session of the
Executive Committee of the Regional Soviet discussed measures on the
political and economic stabilization of the situation. A decision to
restore the authorities of the NKAO People's Deputies Soviet, hold new
elections of the Regional Soviet, develop a survival program for Artsakh,
and prepare for armed resistance against Azerbaijan were all made. A
representative delegation was created in order to hold negotiations
with the Azerbaijani leadership. As a result of negotiations in Baku,
temporary peace was established.

On June 24, the NKAO delegation left for Moscow
to meet with the Soviet leadership to discuss the issue of restoration
of the regional bodies of power and possible dialogue with Azerbaijani
authorities on the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh situation.
On June 29, the USSR Vice-President, G.Yanaev, approved the initiative
and promised to promote the dialogue and peaceful resolution of the
Karabakh problem. The efforts of the NKAO delegation to meet the USSR
President M. Gorbachev failed. The NKAO representatives were received
by the Supreme Soviet Chairman, A.Lukyanov, who expressed the necessity
of restoring the Supreme Soviet Chairman, Lukyanov, expressed the necessity
of restoring the Regional Soviet of People's Deputies, and promised
to send a Supreme Soviet delegation to Nagorno Karabakh to study the
situation. Meetings were also held with the USSR Defense Ministry D.Yazov,
Internal Affairs Minister B.Pugou, Deputy Prosecutor General Trubin,
and the former USSR Foreign Minister E.Shevardnadze. All talks yielded
little in terms of practical results.

Meanwhile, the Azerbaijani leadership continued its
policy of Armenian deportations under the false guise of "voluntary
departures." These actions were accompanied with such atrocities
as torture, murder, looting, banditry, brutality and extreme violence.

On July 19, a session of the Nagorno Karabakh
Regional Soviet of People's Deputies discussed the possibility of dialogue
with Azerbaijan on developing a peaceful settlement to the conflict.
On July 20, the NKAO delegation held a meeting with President of Azerbaijan,
but no concrete results were achieved.

The turning point of the national-liberation movement
of the Karabakh people was the creation of statehood, thus ensuring
the security of the population and their territory.

On September 2, a Joint Session of the Nagorno
Karabakh Regional Council and the Council of the Shahoumian region was
held. In light of the wishes of all peoples residing within the boundaries
of Nagorno Karabakh and the Shahoumian Region, a Republic of Nagorno
Karabakh was proclaimed. Almost immediately followed the Azerbaijani
retaliation as Stepanakert was bombarded and shelled with 'Alazan' rockets.

On September 22, Presidents of Russia and Kazakhstan,
B.Yeltsin and N.Nazarbaev, accompanied by A.Mutalibov arrived in Stepanakert
on a peacemaking mission. At the request of B. Yeltsin and N.Nazarbaev,
negotiations were held in Zheleznovodsk between the Armenian, Azerbaijani
and Nagorno Karabakh delegations on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement,
and as a result, the parties adopted a Joint Communiqué on September
23rd.

Yeltsin and Nazarbaev's mediation initiative unfortunately
did not result in any improvement of the situation in Nagorno Karabakh.
On the contrary, Azeris rapidly escalated offensives, shelling, and
attacks on the Armenian areas.

On October 15, representatives of the Presidents
of Russia and Kazakhstan arrived in Baku to begin the implementation
of the Zheleznovodsk agreement. The President of Azerbaijan received
the delegation, even though he repeatedly stated that only Azerbaijan
was competent to resolve the Nagorno Karabakh conflict and all outside
agencies must not intervene in Azerbaijan's internal affairs.

Meanwhile, in Baku anti-Armenian riots were organized
by the Azerbaijani Popular Front demanding the creation of a regular
army to capture Karabakh.

Soon after, the Azerbaijani Supreme Soviet adopted
a bill on the dissolution of Nagorno Karabakh as a national-territorial
entity, and the Nagorno Karabakh districts were renamed and subordinated
to newly created administrative centers. On November 28, a resolution
from the USSR Committee of Constitutional Supervision condemned the
Azerbaijani legislative body for violating the status of NKAO.

The most important turn of events in the national
liberation struggle of the Karabakh people was the all-republican referendum,
held on December 10, 1991. 98% of the participants of the referendum
voted for the independence of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic. On December
28, despite constant bombardment by the Azerbaijani Army, parliamentary
elections to the Supreme Soviet of the Republic were held in the NKR.
On January 6, 1992, the newly elected legislative body of the
NKR adopted the Declaration of the NKR Independence and appealed to
the UN and to all the countries of the world to recognize the NKR and
help prevent the genocide of the Artsakh Armenians. The next day the
session elected the chairman of the NKR Supreme Council, thirty-year
old Arthur Mkrtchian. Oleg Yessayan was appointed as Chairman of the
Council of Ministers (The NKR Government).

Taking advantage of the collapse of the Soviet Union,
Azerbaijan proceeded to escalate wide-scaled military offensives against
Nagorno Karabakh. The Azeri-populated villages, surrounding Stepanakert,
were turned into military bases from which the capital of the republic
was destroyed by artillery shelling. Forty barreled missile rockets
called "Grads" were launched. "Grads" are considered
a weapon of mass destruction when used against civilian populations
and their usage is forbidden by numerous international conventions.
In addition to bombing in Stepanakert, the Azerbaijanis shelled the
Shahoumian district, killing many children and women.

Late in 1991, the units of the former 4th Army
(of USSR) were ordered to withdraw from Karabakh. The republic now stood
alone, face to face with Azerbaijani regular forces equipped with modern
military equipment, arms, and aircraft piloted by foreign mercenaries.
Early in 1992, the arsenal of the Azeri armed forces was increased considerably
when warehouses of the Transcaucasian military region of former Soviet
Army were captured. The warehouse stocked thousands of carriages of
ammunition that, as military experts asserted, would be enough for on
intensive military offensive lasting at least a year.

1992

The beginning of 1992 was marked by Azerbaijani
incursions into the territory of Agdam and the attack on the Armenian
village of Khramort, which was subsequently burnt to the ground. The
NKR capital and various Armenian villages were under constant intensive
shelling. On January 25-26, an Azerbaijani army battalion attacked the
Karintak village of the Shoushi district. The Azerbaijani forces were
beaten back after two days' of fierce fighting. On January 31, Azerbaijan
began an offensive along the entire front-line.

The escalating military offensives operations compelled
the NKR to organize their own defense. Voluntary groups of freedom fighters
were established throughout Artsakh. Headquarters of these self-defense
forces were established in order to coordinate military operations.
This became the foundation that paved the way for creating a regular
army.

On the night of January 21-22, the headquarters
of the Azerbaijani OMON, located in the Kerkjan quarter (former Karkarashen)
of the town of Stepanakert, was destroyed. Soon after, the villages
of Malibeyli and Ghushchilar, adjacent to the NKR capital, were destroyed.

On February 24, the NKR Supreme Soviet Presidium made a decision
on the legal status of the armed forces of the republic that were subordinated
under united command. One of the primary tasks of the Artsakh self-defense
forces was the removal and destruction of the enemy's bridgehead at
Khodjaly, an area where considerable manpower and military equipment
existed. In order to ensure efficient communication within Karabakh,
it was necessary to reopen a corridor linking the area of Askeran with
Stepanakert, and regain control of the republican airport, which was
in Azeri hands.

On February 25, the Artsakh self-defense forces,
taking up positions in western Khodjaly, demanded that the enemies leave
the military base and allow civilians through the established humanitarian
corridor.

The president of Azerbaijan, A.Mutalibov, confessed
that, "the corridor was established by the Armenians to let the
civilian inhabitants through" (the Nezavisimaya Gazeta, April 2,
1992). Nevertheless, the Azeri military, using the villagers as a shield,
resumed bombarding of populated areas in NKR. When villagers were compelled
to abandon their homes, Azeri forces shot the civilian columns as they
approached Agdam borders. A.Mutalibov believed this unprecedented criminal
act was linked to the Azerbaijani Opposition Popular Front's efforts
to remove him from office, thus placing the entire massacre on his shoulders.

Early in March, the Azeri army undertook a
wide-scaled offensive that involved the entire front line. The main
blow was aimed at the Martakert, Askeran and Martouni districts. As
a result of fierce battles, the offensive was halted. Even with the
liquidation of the Khodjaly military base, the shelling did not subside.
The Azeris positioned themselves in the town of Shoushi and carried
out sustained rocket-artillery bombardment of the NKR capital and other
populated areas. On May 7, the Azeri infantry and armor backed with
ME-24 military helicopters attacked the Karabakh defense positions in
the southeast of Stepanakert. Simultaneously, from the Shoushi hills
and adjacent Azerbaijani points 200 Grad rockets and weapons were launched
onto the capital, causing many casualties and devastating destruction.
Fires broke raged throughout the railway station and in apartment buildings
throughout the town.

The command self-defense forces decided to neutralize
the strongholds of the enemy. In the morning of May 8, the Artsakh
self-defense subunits assumed a counter-offensive, taking the Shoushi-Lachin
road under their control. By noon, the Azeri defense of Shoushi from
the north and south had been broken. As a result of fierce street battles,
the Armenian troops occupied the central quarters of the town by evening.
On May 9, Shoushi was liberated entirely. After destroying the
firing points in Shoushi, the self-defense forces next mission was to
open the important road of Shoushi-Lachin-Zabukh, remove the blockade,
and restore normal daily activity in the republic. On May 18,
the Karabakh army entered Lachin (Kashatagh), thus ending the 3-year
blockade. On May 20, hundreds of tons of humanitarian goods - food,
medicines, and other top priority materials were delivered to Stepanakert
via the Goris-Stepankert Road through the Lachin Corridor. After the
Shoushi-Lachin operation, the tension in the conflict area was reduced
considerably.

Meanwhile, the Azeri military was preparing for a
new wide-scaled military operation. On June 12, the Azerbaijani
troops waged an offensive in the northern-eastern, eastern and southeastern
sectors of the front. The entire weight of the Azerbaijan military was
directed against a 20 kilometers theatre of operations. In addition,
the forces of former 4-th Army stationed in NKR were engaged. With the
help of armor equipment, Grad multiple-missile rocket launchers, and
aircraft, the enemy was able to capture the entire Shahoumian district,
and parts of Martakert and Askeran districts. As a result of the offensive,
the Azerbaijani national army destroyed and burned scores of villages,
forcing forty thousand inhabitants of the republic into refugee status.
Taking into account the dire situation, the NKR Supreme Soviet announced
that the republic was in a state of emergency. The population, including
sergeants, reserves, conscripts from the ages 18 to 40, officers up
to 50 years old, and women, were all mobilized and given special training.

In the first days of June, the Azerbaijani
army, expanding its offensive in several directions, occupied the regional
center of Martakert and a number of villages in the region. A large
threat hung over Artsakh as 40% of the territory was officially occupied
by Azerbaijani troops.

On August 11, the President of Azerbaijan issued
a decree on conscription for military service of all those demobilized
from the army in 1991-1992, as well as a prolongation of tenure for
those currently serving in the armed forces. With the aim of preventing
further loss of territories to Azerbaijan, the NKR Supreme Soviet Presidium
adopted an edict placing the republic on the alert for declared war.
On August 15, the State Committee of Defense was established and was
granted absolute executive and legislative powers. The State Committee
of Defense Chairman, Robert Kocharian, mobilized all the manpower and
material resources of the republic, and prepared enterprises, establishments,
and organizations for war. Kocharian's next priority was the unification
of all autonomous self-defense forces into a united army under a single
commander.

Meanwhile, heavy battles continued in different areas
of the front. The Azerbaijani air force continued attacking civilian
targets. On August 18, pellet bombs were dropped on Stepanakert
even though the use of such weapons was forbidden by international law.
The following days, the villages of the Martouni, Martakert and Askeran
districts came under aerial bombardment.

By late summer, Martakert remained an extremely
tense position in the front. On August 26, at the expense of great losses,
the enemy succeeded in taking the strategic Martakert-Kelbajar highway.

During the last days of October, the Azerbaijani
troops made two attempts to cut off the Lachin humanitarian corridor,
but were fortunately stopped 12 kilometers away and were thrown back.
On October 19, the Karabakh forces started a counter- offensive to the
south of the corridor and proceeded until they reached the borders of
the Kubatly district.

On November 1992, due to the NKR Army's counter-
offensive efforts, the Tartar-Martakert-Kelbajar highway under its control.
Fierce month-long fighting ensued along the entire length of the Martakert
front. The end of 1992 was marked by the abatement of hostilities along
the entire length of the front.

1993

Early in January, the military offensives along
the length of the Azerbaijani-Karabakh front resumed again. Azerbaijan
engaged almost the entirety of its arsenal  attacking with aircraft,
heavy tanks, various weapons, and infantry.

On January 14, the Azeri troops embarked on
an extended offensive in the direction of the Kichan and Srkhavand villages
of the Martakert district, and the Chartar village in the Martouni district.
However, the Azeri forces were not able to advance in these areas.

In early February, heavy fighting began at
the northern front. The commander of the NKR Self-defense Army issued
a decision to undertake a counter offensive operation in the Martakert
district, in the hopes of freeing the occupied territory. Breaking the
resistance of the enemy army in a few days, the Karabakhi forces advanced
to the strategic Martakert-Kelbajar road. By late February, the Karabakh
forces succeeded in re-establishing full control of the road and of
the Sarsang storage lake where the vital electrical power station was
located.

From March 27 - April 5, operations to remove
the military bases in the Kelbajar district, which presented a serious
threat to the western borders of NKR, was undertaken. On April 3, the
firing points in Kelbajar were neutralized. Having taken the road linking
Kelbajar with Kirovabad, the Karabakh forces advanced to the Omar Pass.
During the second half of April, the situation on the front was relatively
quiet.

However, late in spring, the situation abruptly
changed. The enemy resumed military operations along the entire length
of the front, concentrating forces at the eastern, Martouni area. All
attempts to break through the defenses of the Karabakhi troops failed.

At the beginning of the summer, the Defense
Army Command prepared a plan for the liberation of Martakert which required
undertaking several offensives in various directions simultaneously.
The battles reached a climax on June 27 when the decisive and coordinated
actions of the army yielded the liberation of Martakert after more than
one year of occupation.

On July 4, the Azerbaijani army began a large-scale
offensive in the Askeran, Hadrout and Martakert regions supported by
air power and armor engineering. In all regions, the enemy was rejected
and retreated. Shelly, a village that was used by the Azeri's to mount
artillery shelling onto Askeran and Stepanakert, finally came under
control of the Karabakh forces. Even so, the capital of the NKR continued
to be barraged from the direction of Agdam, where great numbers of long-range
weapons and "Grad" launchers were located. To ensure the safety
of Stepanakert, the Artsakh armed forces moved to liquidate the military
base of Agdam. On July 23, the Karabakh forces broke down the enemy
resistance and entered Agdam. This removed the threat of systematic
shelling of Stepanakert and the threat of further offensives on Askeran
and contiguous districts.

With the loss of their large military base, the Azerbaijani
leadership was compelled to propose a cease-fire. On July 25,
for the first time during the conflict, an arrangement for a three-day
cease-fire armistice was achieved.

However, in the beginning of August the situation
rapidly changed. Sustained attacks on Karabakhi positions resumed and
were concentrated from the direction of Jebrail. Thanks to skillful
actions of the self-defense forces, a number of enemy military bases
were destroyed. On August 16, from the Azerbaijani town of Fizuly, an
offensive was assumed towards the southern borders of the Martouni district
and the eastern borders of the Hadrout district. The military units
of the NKR Defense Army defended their positions, and liberated a number
of occupied villages in the south of the Hadrout district.

In the second half of August, fierce fighting
took place along the Fizuly-Jebrail-Kubatly line. On the 22nd of August,
the Azeri troops were forced to leave the town and district of Fizuly.
In two days, the Karabakhi troops entered the district center Djebrail
and took the territory under their control.

On August 26, the Hadrout district territory
of the NKR was entirely liberated. On August 29, the Azeri side made
an attempt to break through the Karabakhi defensive positions in the
southern regions of the Lachin Humanitarian Corridor, but the NKR army
embarked on a counter-offensive, and on August 31 entered the district
center of Kubatly. The same day, an agreement on a 10-day cease-fire
was signed between Azerbaijan and the NKR. An arrangement for a meeting
between the leaders of Azerbaijan and Nagorno Karabakh was scheduled
for the 10th of September.

However, the agreement did not effectively transfer
the resolution of the military conflict into a political one. The relative
quiet along the front lasted merely a month and a half. On the night
of the October 10, Azerbaijan resumed military operations in the
Hadrout region of the front. On October 21, units from the Azerbaijani
Army began an attack towards the Hadrout-Jebrail direction, capturing
a number of strategic hills and once again threatening the population
of the Hadrout region. On October 24, the NKR Army counter-attacked,
neutralizing a number of firing points of the enemy, including the Ghoradis
military base. Having taken this military base, the Karabakhi forces
succeeded in isolating the Zangelan district, a part of the Jebrail
and the Kubatly districts, from the rest of Azerbaijan.

In the morning of November 1, the fighters
of the Self-defense Army took the district center of Zangelan. Starting
on December 10, the Azerbaijani army launched three offensives in the
southeastern sector of the front, but each time the Karabakh army was
able to stand their ground. On December 15, the military bases in the
Agdjabedy district of Azerbaijan began massive rocket-artillery shelling
of the town of Martouni. On December 19, supported by tanks and airpower,
the Azerbaijani troops attacked the positions of the Karabakhi army
in the east of the Martouni district. The NKR armed forces were able
to stop the offensive and in the evening of December 20 they were able
to drive the enemy back to their initial positions. On December 22,
the positions held by the Karabakhi troops were subjected to artillery
shelling. The enemy unsuccessfully tried to break the defensive borders
of the Karabakhi forces along the front-line, extending some 30 kilometers.
On December 26, the Azerbaijani troops waged battles in the Martakert,
Martouni and Hadrout regions, but they did not succeeded in advancing.
By the end of 1993, territory stretching from the railway junction
of Ghoradis to the state border of Armenia was under Karabakhi control.

The leadership of Azerbaijan, realizing that the mobilization
of their own troops was not sufficient, began employing mercenaries,
including about 1,500 Mojahedeens from Afghanistan. Personal papers,
military maps, letters and photos, national currency confirmed participation
of the mercenaries in the war, and captured men of the Karabakhi military
used as trophies.

1994

Azerbaijan attempted once again to gain control of
the situation, intensifying their attacks on the entire front-line.
Heavy fighting was waged from the Omar Pass to the Araks River. In spite
of serious losses, the enemy did not retreat. In early February
the NKR troops started liquidating the enemy's bases around the Omar
Pass. On February 18, the northern sector, including the Omar Pass,
was entirely controlled by the Karabakhi forces, thus they came to control
the entire Kelbajar district.

In late February and early March, fighting
developed along the southeastern border of the front. Backed by armored
forces, artillery, and aircraft, the enemy's troops attempted to break
through the Karabakhi defense and advance to Fizuly. However, the Karabakh
forces were defended its positions and assumed a series of their own
attacks.

On April 10, as a result of counter offensives
in the northern-eastern front, the NKR armed forces took a number of
strategic hills in the Gulistan- Talish region. In the middle of April,
the NKR Defense Army liberated the Armenian villages of Talish, Chily,
Madagis, and Levonarkh. The Karabakh troops were also successful in
their movement south and managed to bring the main road in Agdam-Barda
under their control.

These decisive military defeats compelled Azerbaijan
to accept the Russian Federation's proposal on armistice. On May
5, under the mediation of Russia, Kyrgyzia, and the CIS Inter-Parliament
Assembly in the capital of Kyrgyzia, Bishkek, - Azerbaijan, Nagorno
Karabakh, and Armenia signed the Bishkek protocol and a cease-fire was
achieved. On May 16, Defense Minister of Armenia, Serzh Sarkissian,
Defense Minister of Azerbaijan, Mamedraffi Mamedov, and the NKR Defense
Army Commander, Samvel Babayan, held a meeting in Moscow and signed
a cease-fire agreement to begin on May 17, 1994. Documents were signed
called for the disengagement of the Karabakh and Azerbaijani troops,
and the establishment of a buffer zone between the borders and deployment
of peacekeeping forces. Defense Ministers of the Russian Federation
and Armenia, Pavel Grachev and Serge Sarkissian, and the NKR Defense
Army Commander signed the document. Despite the fact that Azerbaijan
did not sign the final version of the Moscow agreement (the Azerbaijani
Defense Minister Mamedraffi Mamedov was urgently called to Baku), a
durable cease-fire was established in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

* * *

The authorities of Nagorno Karabakh realize
that when confrontation between two armed sides continues even under
the conditions of an armistice, the army is the only trustworthy guarantee
for the protection of the people and statehood. This is why today, fundamental
staff reforms aimed at improving combat readiness are being implemented
under guidance from NKR Defense Minister Lieutenant-General, Seyran
Ohanian. The material-technical base of the army is improving and personnel
training are being conducted. As before, the NKR Defense Army is ready
and willing to throwback any further aggression from Azerbaijan.